


d is for dysfunctional

by fantastiken



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-06-10 18:22:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6968830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantastiken/pseuds/fantastiken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a second, Sehun is about to pretend he doesn't know what Chanyeol is talking about, but eventually decides that it'd be a waste of time because Chanyeol knows him better than he knows himself sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	d is for dysfunctional

**Author's Note:**

> this fic happens after [this one](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6968851)~

The sun is up in the sky, reigning over everything and everyone. It’s probably around noon, if the unbearable heat is anything to go by. 

Sehun’s muscles twitch uncontrollably, they ripple under pale skin in sinuous ways. Not too far away, a bunch of kids scream to other kids as they kick a giant colorful ball. 

“Will you stop squirming?” Chanyeol sounds a little annoyed, but Sehun knows he isn’t really mad at him. “I’m serious, Sehun. Stop wriggling like a stupid eel, I’m trying to keep you from getting your pale-ass skin burned.” 

Narrowing his eyes, Sehun grunts but tries his best to stay still. It’s not his fault that Chanyeol’s fingers dip in all the ticklish places known to man as he slathers a ridiculous amount of sunscreen all over his back. He tells that to Chanyeol, who just pushes his muscles a little harder as a chuckle abandons his lips. 

“It’s not my fault you turn into a red, pretty shrimp whenever you spend like, two minutes out in the sun.” 

Sehun knows he should feel at least a little bit offended by that comment, but it’s Chanyeol after all and they’ve known each other for fourteen years. He still laughs at Chanyeol’s stupid crush on their Lit teacher back in 10th grade whenever he has a chance, so he guesses they’re even. 

“One of these days, the news will talk about a tall, gangly young man who got violently murdered by a super handsome guy. I’m just letting you know that you’ll be the victim. Guess who the assassin will be,” he deadpans though, as his eyes scan the seashore in search for someone. 

“I think the handsome murderer will be Jongin, won’t he? It suits him, with all that sexy mysterious aura that surrounds him. I wouldn’t mind being murdered if Jongin was who killed me,” Chanyeol jokes, pressing now both hands onto Sehun’s shoulders and spreading the white, gooey lotion with even strokes. 

“You are an asshole,” Sehun accentuates each word with a punch to Chanyeol’s thighs, who are settled on each side of his own as they sit on a beach towel under a giant yellow umbrella. 

“Pot calling the kettle black,” Chanyeol singsongs. He closes the lid of the obnoxious bottle of sunscreen they brought and stuffs it in his bag again. 

Sehun’s eyes are still looking intently at the seashore, and Chanyeol starts humming something by Rihanna under his breath. 

“Where’s Jongin?” Sehun asks, a little alarmed. It’s been a while since Jongin told them he was going for a quick dip and he hasn’t come back yet. 

Chanyeol’s long arms circle Sehun’s torso as his chin finds its rightful place on the crook of Sehun’s neck. He tightens his hold and presses himself closer to Sehun as he mumbles, “Look over there.” Sehun seems confused, so he instructs, “To your right. Look there. See the group of screaming kids?” Sehun nods, still somewhat baffled. “Don’t you think one of them is too tall to be their age?” 

And then Sehun really _sees_ them. And of course, Jongin would be playing with a bunch of kids when he came to the beach with Chanyeol and Sehun to spend the day together. 

So Sehun grunts again, and this time he’s a little annoyed. Chanyeol’s chortle in his right ear makes his bare skin break out in goosebumps. The wind blows gently, and it ruffles their already messy hair more. 

“When are you going to tell him?” Chanyeol sounds serious all of a sudden, his voice deep and meaningful, like he’s actually saying many things with just a few simple words. 

For a second, Sehun is about to pretend he doesn’t know what Chanyeol is talking about, but eventually decides that it would be a waste of time because Chanyeol knows him better than he knows himself sometimes. 

“You know I won’t.” 

“You’re being idiotic, Sehun.” And he can’t see him, but Sehun knows that Chanyeol is rising an eyebrow, amused by how stubborn Sehun can be. 

“I’m not.” 

“Absolutely.” 

Sehun huffs. 

Chanyeol hugs him tighter then, hands splayed wide on the fluttering skin of Sehun’s chest and ribs, and leaves a lingering kiss on his shoulder. 

“Tell him,” he says after a few seconds of listening to the waves. 

“I love you too, Chanyeol.” Sehun sounds very anxious; his voice is strangled. His fingers clutch viciously the damp fabric of Chanyeol’s swimming trunks. “I’m not going to do this to you.” 

Chanyeol stays quiet for a while as they both observe how Jongin picks one of the kids from the wet sand and runs with him towards the water, where he promptly dives into. They resurface with twinkling laughter and brilliant smiles, and both Sehun’s and Chanyeol’s hearts clench at the beautiful sight. 

“We can’t be both dragged down because of this, Sehun.” He pauses as the wind blows again and brings more laughter to their ears; he smiles a tiny smile. “If only one of us deserves to be happy, I want it to be you.” 

Sehun moves his arm until his hand finds Chanyeol’s, and he then squeezes it with so much intensity that it hurts. Chanyeol doesn’t complain, though, and just squeezes back gently. 

“You don’t deserve this.” Sehun is staring ahead at Jongin’s body as he rolls on the sand with a couple of little girls, and he looks like he wants to bore holes in Jongin’s skin as he tries to make it look like the matter doesn’t affect him as much as it does. 

“Neither do you.” 

And Chanyeol is sincere, because they’ve come a long way, many years together through thick and thin, from their highest to their lowest. He knows neither does he deserve it, but he’d rather set himself on fire than let Sehun suffer because of him. 

“I don’t even know if he… if he… loves me. I don’t want to ruin this, Chanyeol.” Sehun sobs dryly. “I’d hate myself if it happens because of me and this stupid,” he interrupts his words to give a weak pat to the left side of his chest, “heart that won’t stop tap dancing whenever I see him.” Then, his shiny eyes meet Chanyeol as he lets his body weight fall on Chanyeol’s chest completely. “Whenever I see you.” 

Chanyeol feels his chest tighten again, and gulps loudly. 

“I know he does. He loves you, Sehun,” he assures him before adding as an afterthought, “Who wouldn’t?” 

Sehun decides to ignore that last sentence because his chest is starting to really ache and he’s not sure how much more he can take before he starts crying for real. “How do you know?” 

After thinking about it for a long moment, Chanyeol answers. “I just know it. I feel it, I don’t know. I see how he looks at you, and it’s kind of obvious.” 

“Don’t be-don’t be stupid, Chanyeol.” 

Jongin laughs again when the kids try to bury him in the sand, and a rebellious tear starts running down Sehun’s cheek as a result. Chanyeol is quick and wipes it for him. 

That just makes Sehun hiccup as he turns his body and envelopes Chanyeol with his bony arms; Chanyeol hugs him back as Sehun shakes a bit, holding on to him for dear life. 

“He could love you as well,” he mumbles against the salty skin of Chanyeol’s collarbones. “I think he does, Chanyeol.” 

To be honest, there’s nothing in the world that Chanyeol would love more than Sehun’s words to be true. He wants Jongin and Sehun to love him as much as he loves them, but knows that it’s not true. He appreciates Sehun’s desperate attempts at making him feel better about it, though, and kisses the top of his head delicately. 

“Sehun, don’t fantasize. Jongin doesn’t love me that way.” 

“But you do, don’t you?” 

Chanyeol lets out a shuddering breath and stays quiet for a few minutes. 

“I do. I love him as much as I love you, but I’d love having you both for me much more than I do separately. I’m so selfish. Man, admitting this is harder than confessing to you alone,” he chuckles, and perhaps it sounds a little sad. 

“You could-,” Sehun starts, voice certainly thick, but Chanyeol interrupts him before his ideas get too wild. 

“No, Sehun.” 

“But you could make him fall for you!” He insists, high-pitched voice startling a seagull that was observing them nearby. “We could make him fall in love with you.” 

“Listen to yourself, Sehun. Would you want me to love you because I feel forced to do so?” Sehun shakes his head after giving the idea a second thought, still hiding in Chanyeol’s chest. “Just let it be, and talk to Jongin about your feelings.” 

“Why can’t things be normal?” he whines, and for once he’s whining with a valid reason. 

Chanyeol lets out a breathy laugh. “We’ve never been normal, Sehun.” 

Sehun sobs, but agrees with a half-hearted laugh himself. 

“True. We’ve always been pretty dysfunctional.” 

Just then, a panting Jongin comes back and ducks his head to find shelter under their obnoxious umbrella. His hair is dripping wet, cold droplets of salty water falling everywhere when he shakes his head. He laughs a little when the kids yell something at him from the seashore, and his dark, shiny eyes fall on Chanyeol’s a second later. 

“What were you laughing at just now, you morons?” he asks with his eyes intent on Sehun and Chanyeol. Jongin is practically covered in sand, but doesn’t seem particularly concerned about it. He gracefully bends down a little until his hands rest on top of his knees, and his stare never leaves the other two guys, curious. 

“Your hair. It’s pretty ridiculous,” Chanyeol answers with a wide smile. “Like you,” he adds, wicked grin making him look ten times crazier than he does on a normal basis. 

Jongin gasps in mock offense and shakes his head so he’d get his friends wet with tiny, icy beads of revenge. Sehun, who wasn’t looking at him, squeaks at the unexpected attack and quickly climbs further up Chanyeol’s lap, screeching something like _what the hell Jongin_ as his hands clutch at Chanyeol’s back with desperation. 

Jongin, in turn, coos exaggeratedly as he reaches for Sehun and ruffles his hair with sandy fingers that earn him a disgruntled hiss. 

“Aw, look a tiny kitty Sehunnie. He doesn’t like cold water, does he?” He smiles again in Chanyeol’s direction, who rubs Sehun’s sides trying to get him to relax —and maybe stop clawing at his skin, thank you. 

Sehun grumbles, but that only makes him sound more like an angry cat, much to his dismay. “Fuck you, Jongin. I’m not five.” 

“Oh, did I hear that you want me to carry you to the water? I think I did.” 

Chanyeol feels Sehun bristle in his hold when Jongin’s hands land on his hot skin. 

“Don’t you dare Kim Jongin,” he warns, but he doesn’t look very menacing, what with his skin white and almost sparkling due to the coat of sunscreen he’s still wearing. “I said don’t you dare, you abominable man. Chanyeol. Chanyeol help me. please. Chanyeol, don’t let him take me with him. He’s evil and will-” 

Before Chanyeol can react, however, Jongin grips Sehun’s torso tighter and lifts him from Chanyeol’s lap. Sehun shrieks and kicks uncontrollably, but Jongin manages to hold him like he had been holding the kids not even ten minutes before. A pair of strong hands grasps Sehun’s thighs when they quickly circle Jongin’s torso, as if Sehun were thinking he would be dropped in a pool of acid any second. Chanyeol knows that Sehun is digging his nails in Jongin’s shoulder blades, and he secretly likes the idea of that little revenge. 

“Here, kitty, let’s help you overcome your fear of water.” Sehun thrashes as Jongin starts walking off. “I promise you it won’t bite!” Jongin tells him in a patronizing tone before a sharp cry interrupts his own words. “Ouch! Unlike you, little bastard. That hurt.” 

Sehun laughs, but squeaks again when Jongin’s steps take them further from Chanyeol’s spot in the sand. His eyes widen as a few of his previous, rebellious tears keep wetting his cheeks. 

Sehun twists in the other’s hold but Jongin’s recent trips to the gym may be paying off, because Sehun isn’t strong enough to fight the firm and warm grip around his waist. Suddenly, Sehun feels hot all over, both from the tornado of unrestrained feelings inside of him and from embarrassment ―and maybe a little bit from betrayal because Chanyeol is just sitting there, watching with a fond (but devastatingly sad) smile as Jongin starts running swiftly towards the cold waves and jumps into the wild mass of water with Sehun in his arms. 

It happens fast, so one second later Sehun’s tears get lost in the ocean before an oblivious Jongin can notice them. 

Right before they resurface gasping for air, holding tight onto each other, Chanyeol wipes his own, and no one ever sees them.


End file.
